Fugitive ex-president Ricardo Martinelli’s  $8.2 million mansion in Coral Gables,  Miami is a stark contrast to his current  11 ft by 6 ft cell in a Federal Detention Center where he has no access to TV, radio, computers Twitter or visitors.

[caption id="attachment_72606" align="alignleft" width="300"] A La Prensa cartoonist's impression of the lifestyle change[/caption]

If,  after  his extradition to Panama, he is found guilty of illegal  wiretapping of  150 political opponents, judges,  journalists and businessmen,  he could face 21 years in  Panama’s El Renacer prison, with slightly less onerous conditions than Miami,  but far removed from those at the oceanfront mansion in one of Miami's most exclusive residential neighborhoods.

The three-floor  mansion has 9,332 square feet of construction, a pool, parking for four vehicles and a dock

Martinelli has been detained since Monday, June 12, by order of Judge Edwin Torres of the South District of Florida Court.

According to internet sites dedicated to the real estate business, the mansion was acquired on July 8 last year for $ 8.2 million.

The transaction was closed a month and a half after Panama’s Supreme Court Supreme Court (CSJ) sent to the Chancellery the documents supporting the request for extradition of the former president to answer to charges of unauthorized interception of communications by the National Security Council, during his term.